1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fishing lures, and more particularly to a fishing lure that includes a lip, a paddle, and a hook that together incorporates the benefits of both crank lures and a soft pliable bait.
2. Description of Related Art
The fishing lure of the present invention combines the benefits of two of the most common types of lures, crank baits and soft pliable baits (plastic or live bait). Crank baits are typically hard bodied lures that have a lip in front of the hard body to which the fishing line attaches. When the lure is pulled through the water, the lip causes the lure to dive and to wobble (or vibrate back and forth) under water. This vibration is known to attract fish.
The second lure type, soft pliable baits, are plastic and/or rubber-like lures molded into the shape of various food sources for fish, (worms, crawdads, frogs, small bait fish, etc.), or actual live baits. The soft pliable bait is attached to a large single hook and typically bounced or dragged along the second surface of the lake.
The proposed design combines these two lures in a unique way. The novel and non-obvious aspect of this design is the “paddle” which provides for an opposing drag force to “right” the lure so it does not veer off in one direction or the other. For regular hard-bodied crank baits, this opposing drag force is supplied by the body of the lure itself. If the proposed design was simply a crank bait lip attached to a worm hook, the wobble would be greatly diminished or eliminated. The paddle, however, provides for this opposing force, thereby producing the desired amplitude of wobble.
Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,406, teaches a fishing lure that includes an angled deflection element for making the lure wiggle, and a plastic body. However, the Wilson fishing lure includes a hinged connection between the deflector and the plastic body, and it does not include a paddle therebetween.
The prior art teaches various forms of fishing lures. However, the prior art does not teach a fishing lure that includes a lip connected to a hook via a rigid paddle element, with the hook being adapted to engage a soft pliable bait. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.